咯 (gē) — cough up; spit
Definition
咯 (gē) is a bound verb used only after 把 or before 出 to mean 'cough up' or 'spit out' (blood, phlegm). It never stands alone — pair it with a substance like 血 or 痰.
bound form
cough upspit
Easily confused
- 格gēlook-alikegrid; lattice; square (as in a pattern or partition)
- 歌gēsound-alikesong
- 洛luòlook-alike(bound form) used in place names, especially the Luo River and Luoyang
- 哥gēsound-alikeelder brother (also used as a respectful or friendly term for a male friend or acquaintance)
- 胳gālook-alike(bound morpheme) armpit (only in 胳肢窝)
- 割gēsound-aliketo cut (with a blade); to sever
Examples
- ，咯。Tā ké sou dé lì hài, tū rán gē xiě le.He coughed badly and suddenly coughed up blood.
- 咯。Yī shēng ràng tā gē tán jiǎn chá.The doctor asked him to spit out phlegm for examination.
- 咯。Tā gē chū le dài xuè de tán.He coughed up phlegm with blood.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
咯 combines 口 (mouth) with 各, which gives the sound; the mouth part shows it is about a mouth action.
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